Tactics
by ArtemisMS
Summary: Cracky sequel to Please Forget About Me: Renji takes Byakuya to his Halo party.  Byakuya is not used to losing.  Wait, Byakuya does not lose.  Byakuya cannot lose.  BYAKUYA LOST?  WTF.  DIE. Renji x Byakuya
1. Chapter 1

Renji paused before the door to his best friends' house, his raised fist hovering before knocking. He turned to regard his captain, brow furrowed slightly under his white bandana. "Are you sure you still wanna do this?"

Byakuya only frowned, ever so slightly, his eyes gazing through the wooden paneling of the door as if he could peer into the room within.

It had been exactly two weeks and three days since his sister's engagement party—and the most upsetting disagreement Byakuya had ever had with his fukutaichou. But it had been life-changing as well, for the both of them. They were now engaged, albeit secretly. Renji had learned not to expect so much from him, conversationally speaking, and he in turn had begun to try to express himself more honestly. They still argued. That part's perfectly normal, Jyuushiro had assured him, despite the fact that he and Kyouraku Shunsui had not so much as frowned at one another in the past 500 or so years.

"Okay, throw me a rope here, Taichou. Are we going in, are we not going in…?"

Of course there were some things about Renji that still irritated him, and there were some things about himself that he knew still irritated Renji. But now, these things rarely erupted into full-blown arguments.

Renji sighed, an admittedly long-suffering sound. "All right, that's it. Nervous or not, you've got five seconds to gimme an answer." The threat hovered menacingly in the air, but Byakuya did not so much as twitch, his mouth only thinning slightly. "Fine. Five… four… three… two… it's your funeral here, Taichou…"

No, he did not miss the arguments—the long silences, the tense dinners, the occasional bouts of rough sex that shouldn't have happened. Fortunately for them, Renji had managed to concoct, all on his own, a new way to deal with his tendency towards taciturnity—one that did _not_ result in his having to sleep on the couch at the end of the day.

"… One."

"Renji!" Byakuya cried, as a pair of long-fingered, calloused hands suddenly dug themselves into his sides. "Stop that!" He tried to slap his fukutaichou's fingers aside, but it was difficult, as he was also trying vainly not to laugh.

Renji grinned, not letting up. "You look like someone shoved a rod up your ass and forced you to bend over."

He shot his lover a murderous look. But before he could gather the strength to retaliate, Renji abruptly switched tactics, wrapping his arms around him and hauling him close, their bodies flush against one another now.

"Renji!" he snapped again, furious and starting to breathe heavily. The chief reason, after all, for why his lover had chosen this manner of dealing with him was because he'd learned his captain's deepest, darkest secret.

Getting tickled tended to make him… well…

…horny.

Renji grinned, arms tightening around his waist. "What?" And before Byakuya could do anything to stop him, he pressed their mouths hungrily together—naturally, just as the front door suddenly flew open.

They separated like a pair of startled rabbits, Byakuya turning to see his sister gazing up at them, her hand still on the doorknob. She looked… amused.

"Nii-sama," she said, managing a respectful bow to her older brother. "Renji." She grinned at her friend, and Byakuya was pleased to note that his lover was blushing. Served him right.

"Rukia," he said, inclining his head graciously. From the corner of his eye, he caught Renji throwing him a dirty look. He resisted the urge to smirk.

Rukia smiled. "It's way past seven. They thought you weren't coming." She opened the door wider, gesturing for them to come in. He did not miss the impish little grin she shot him for being late, a look she wouldn't have normally dared to give him.

This time it was Renji's turn to look smug while his captain pretended not to blush with his usual cultured stoicism.

"Ichigo and the others are in the spare room." She said, her eyes still dancing in impish amusement as she waited for them to slip off their shoes and hang up their jackets. Byakuya pretended not to notice that either, though it was rather difficult, with Renji suddenly strutting around with that "I just fucked my captain up against the hotel wall" smirk on his face.

No, make that "I just fucked my fiancé up against the hotel wall."

The decision to keep their engagement secret for now had been mutual—that is, he had suggested it, and Renji had agreed. This may have been because Renji had a tendency to agree to just about anything after sex, but an agreement was an agreement. Nevertheless, Byakuya had begun to suspect betrayal when he noticed how often his sister had started to smile at him. She visited him in Seireitei frequently now, and kept him informed of all her plans for her own rapidly approaching nuptials.

It reached a point to where eventually Byakuya couldn't take it anymore. Perhaps the continual reminder that his sister was to be bound for all eternity to that idiot future husband of hers had finally gotten to him. Whatever the case, one night during dinner, he'd turned to Renji and asked him, sternly and coolly, if he had broken their agreement by telling Rukia the truth about them.

"Nope," came the easy reply, in between mouthfuls of rice and fish.

Then why, he'd continued, had she been acting so strangely?

"I told her you were pregnant."

Byakuya couldn't remember ever having been so incensed. He had also come dangerously close to peeing his hakama by the time Renji finished tickling him.

"Oh_hhh_!!!!"

The outraged cry resounded from the room at the end of the hallway just as they passed into the living room. It was immediately followed by jubilant crows and a string of curses. In addition to Ichigo, Byakuya could detect the voices of Hisagi Shuuhei and Madarame Ikkaku. He almost wrinkled his nose—he could practically smell the testosterone-laced vibes wafting down the hallway.

Rukia paused to offer them something to eat or drink, causing Renji to look at her as if she'd grown horns between her ears.

"No, thank you," Byakuya replied. She nodded and flashed them one last knowing little grin before disappearing into the kitchen, where he could hear her apparently resume a conversation with someone… Ichigo's sister Yuzu, he thought.

Renji grumbled under his breath. "Never asks _me_ if I want somethin' to drink…"

Byakuya ignored him. Instead, he turned to look down the hallway again, his brow slightly furrowed.

He started slightly, feeling a hand come to rest lightly on the small of his back.

"It's okay, Taichou. It'll be fun. I promise." The hand started rubbing his back, making little circular motions. "Okay?"

Byakuya frowned and looked ahead again. He gazed silently down the hallway for a moment longer, then started walking. A few feet more and he was standing in the doorway of the room, gazing down at the three younger shinigami, all of them staring straight ahead, eyes riveted to the rapidly moving images on the television screen.

Hisagi was the first to look up.

He gaped.

"K-Kuchiki-taichou!"

Ikkaku and Ichigo also looked up, both of them immediately dropping the contraptions in their hands and gazing with similarly slack-jawed shock.

He felt Renji's hovering presence over his shoulder. "Hey, guys." He knew without looking back that his fukutaichou was grinning from ear to ear.

Ichigo was the first to recover.

He scowled at Renji, getting to his feet. "What the fuck, man? You know the rules. No girlfriends allowed!"

There was a sudden sharp spike in reiatsu, as all eyes quickly turned to the abruptly furious face of the sixth division captain.

Hisagi's eyes widened. "Holy fuck."

Ikkaku stood up and shoved their orange-headed friend. "Apologize, moron!"

Ichigo looked confused. "For what?" He scratched his head, then blinked, seeming to belatedly realize that he'd just inadvertently called Kuchiki Byakuya a girl—to his face. "Oh, hey. Sorry, Byakuya." He looked at Renji, his scowl returning. "Fucking rule-breaker. See if you get invited back."

Renji scowled right back. "Oh, gee, man, sorry. Sooo sorry I don't keep Kuchiki-taichou in the kitchen, all barefoot and pregnant and shit, the way you intend to keep Rukia."

Byakuya just blinked, reiatsu gradually fading.

"He's right," Hisagi chimed in, looking slightly apologetic. "What's that word Yumi uses?"

Ikkaku snickered. "Chauvinist." He grinned at his friend. "Better than being pussy-whipped."

"Better than being single," Hisagi quipped back.

"Enough," said Byakuya.

Everyone was immediately quiet.

"Renji," he said, turning to fix his subordinate with a look that made the younger shinigami immediately straighten. So did the other two. Ichigo remained standing there, looking slightly pissed, one hand scratching through orange-colored hair.

Byakuya turned to face the television.

Renji hurried forward.

"Here, Taichou! You can sit right here, up front."

"Yeah," Ikkaku agreed, "It can be hard to follow at first. You'll want to sit up front."

"Here's a cushion, Kuchiki-taichou," Hisagi said, handing the white embroidered pillow to Renji, who hastily knelt beside his captain and fixed it so he could kneel down on it.

Ichigo muttered something inaudible under his breath.

"This is a controller," Renji continued, handing him the bulky contraption with the multi-colored buttons. "See, you put your thumbs here and hold it like this. This one goes forward and this one looks around. Oh, and this one shoots. Got it, Taichou?"

Byakuya frowned at the controller, ever so briefly. Then he lifted his head again, shifting slightly on the embroidered cushion, back straight, hair resting smoothly down his back without the familiar aid of the kenseiken, eyes narrowing a little as he regarded the screen.

He was ready.

He saw Renji step back from the corner of his eye, glancing in the opposite direction and scratching his nose as if slightly embarrassed.

Hisagi coughed politely.

Ikkaku was not so polite. He actually snickered.

Renji scowled and turned to fix his three friends with a vicious look before plopping heavily down next to Byakuya, grabbing a controller for himself. "Okay, I'll be on your team, Taichou."

"No way," Ichigo protested. "We can't do teams. We've got too many people now. I'll have to hook up the other system."

"Then hook up the other fucking system!" Renji barked, glaring at him over his shoulder. Byakuya was frowning down at the controller again, trying to remember which one was "shoot."

"Fucking rule-breaker," Ichigo muttered as he bent to do just that. After a moment, Ikkaku and Hisagi went and joined him in front of the other television, a slightly smaller set.

"Okay," Renji said, once the screen had re-loaded. "Now you gotta make a profile, Taichou. So like just pick some cool colors or whatever and make up a name."

Byakuya frowned. "I already have a name, Renji."

"Uh, yeah. I know, but it's like a nickname.

"An avatar," Hisagi suggested helpfully.

Byakuya narrowed his eyes at the screen as he carefully typed out "Kuchiki Byakuya," fumbling about with the controls at first but getting the knack quickly enough. Then he slowly tapped over to hit "Enter."

There was a briefly uncomfortable silence.

"Uh," said Renji. "Okay. So, um, you just scroll down until you find your name. Yeah. Hit "A." … No, that's… yeah. Okay, now you're in. So you'll be at the top of the screen."

Byakuya blinked as the screen suddenly divided itself in two.

"You guys in yet?" asked Ichigo, sounding bored.

"Gimme a sec," Renji said, scrolling rapidly through the list of usernames until he came to the one he was looking for.

Byakuya narrowed his eyes at the screen again. "… Destructinator," he said carefully, reading the name under the little figure that popped up on the bottom half of the screen.

He turned to look at his fukutaichou, arching a brow. "I do not believe that's a word."

"You hear that, Renji?" Ikkaku piped up, leering over his shoulder. "Kuchiki-taichou says it's not a word."

"Fuck off!" came the angry retort.

Ikkaku snickered again.

"Okay, guys," Hisagi said, suddenly sounding all business, "quit messing around and let's play." He hit a button on his own controller, and suddenly the screen started beeping, a countdown starting in the right hand corner.

"All right, Taichou," Renji said as the screen changed, revealing a calming, wintry scene overlooking a gray wall. The bottom half of the screen displayed a similar scene, though at a different angle. "Just stick by me and you'll do okay."

This was easier said than done. Byakuya's eyes widened slightly as he attempted to manipulate the scene before him, wiggling the toggle buttons with his thumbs and even at times turning his body as if he could make it work that way. As a result, rather than keep up with Renji, he ended up turning in circles, desperately trying to figure out how to face forward and move ahead at the same time.

All of a sudden, there was a loud bang, a spray of pixilated blood, and his screen went blank.

"Hey!" Renji cried, glaring over his shoulder. "You didn't have to fucking _shoot_ him!! He was just standing there!"

Ichigo shrugged. "All's fair in war."

"You forgot the love part," Hisagi pointed out.

Ichigo shrugged. "Nope. I only know pain and death. All will fall before my blazing energy sword. DIE, MOTHERFUCKER!!!"

A series of flashing lights, fake dust, and spraying bullets, and suddenly Renji's screen went dark, too.

Renji swore, muttering something under his breath about Ichigo and a portion of the female anatomy. Byakuya would have given his fukutaichou a disapproving look, but he was too busy gripping his controller with white-knuckled hands, trying to figure out how to move again.

Seconds later, it happened again: loud bang, spray of blood, blank screen.

Then again.

And again.

Byakuya lost count of how often he died. It was utterly infuriating—no, simply insufferable. He was being defeated by a third seat, a vice-captain, and a disgusting excuse for a so-called substitute shinigami. His own vice-captain, for all his chivalrous talk of "sticking together," had a tendency to race ahead, spraying bullets pell-mell and screaming his head off until he was mercifully silenced by the opposing team. In short, his tactics greatly resembled those he displayed on the _non_-virtual battlefield. Meanwhile, his teammate had been brutally slaughtered 28 times. Byakuya was keeping count.

Eventually, without warning, he simply put down the controller and rose smoothly to his feet.

"Bathroom's down the hallway to the left," Ichigo said without looking up, his fingers punching madly at the buttons on his own controller.

"Renji," Byakuya said, "Let's go."

"What?!" Renji glanced up, his expression a mixture of shock and indignation, before hurriedly refocusing on the screen. "But, Taichou, I'm on a roll here; I'm about to get a killtacular—OH YEAH!! That's right, asshole! Who's your bitch NOW, Motherfucker?!"

"Shit!" Ikkaku cried, throwing down his own controller in disgust.

Byakuya stared down at them all for a moment more, then turned and calmly walked out of the room.

Hisagi glanced up, then reached over to quickly shove an oblivious Renji.

Renji glared at him. "What??" Then he looked over his shoulder and saw that Byakuya had left. "Oh—shit."

Byakuya was busy putting on his jacket and slipping his shoes back on when Renji hurried up to him. His lover knew better than to ask questions; he simply called out to Rukia to tell her they were leaving before grabbing his own things. Naturally, Rukia came hurrying over, followed by Yuzu, both women looking puzzled.

Byakuya noticed the question on the tip of his sister's tongue and turned to give Renji a meaningful look before stepping outside, leaving his fukutaichou to explain. A short while later, Renji joined him, and they both began walking back up the street together.

Renji was silent for awhile, then finally asked: "That bad, huh?"

Byakuya made no response. He simply kept walking, the bitter, unfamiliar tang of humiliating defeat burning just beneath the surface of his skin. This was a failure which was not ever to be repeated.

Something would have to be done.


	2. Chapter 2

The solution came to him approximately three weeks later—three weeks and two days, to be precise.

He set down his pen, coming to an immediate decision.

"Renji," he said, the name itself a command, as usual. They were, after all, at work.

His fukutaichou looked up quickly before guiltily dropping something in his lap and pretending to resume his own paperwork. He seemed to think his captain was incapable of hearing the small beeping sounds the handheld contraption produced, but his stifled curses and occasional hoots of triumph would have given him away regardless. Byakuya allowed him to believe he was getting away with whatever it was he was doing, if only because it was something he could use in the future the next time they happened to have a disagreement.

"I need to speak with the Eleventh Division fifth seat," he said, folding his hands serenely before him on his desk. "Please go and bring him to me."

"Please" had been a word he had only reluctantly agreed to start using around his subordinates, and only at Renji's offhand suggestion. But as it had yet to result in any real difference in Renji's actual work ethic, he was beginning to seriously doubt the necessity of its insertion into his regular vocabulary.

Renji just stared at him, not seeming to comprehend what he was asking.

Byakuya stared right back. "Shall I repeat myself, Abarai-fukutaichou?"

"Uh," said Renji. "You wanna see Yumichika?"

He gazed calmly back at him, as that was in fact the name of the Eleventh Division fifth seat, and thus no answer was required.

Renji just scratched his head. "What for?"

Byakuya finally looked away, reaching for the pen he had set down a moment ago. "I am not in the habit of explaining my decisions to those who work under me. I presume you have understood the request and do not need further clarification."

He caught the dirty look his fukutaichou tossed him, the one that said, "Yeah, we'll see who's under who later tonight," but he gave no sign that he had seen it. It would simply be another card for him to pull at the most opportune moment.

And Renji wondered why he never won an argument.

He was able to get another twenty minutes' work done before there was a knock just outside his office door.

"Enter," he said, his voice as calm and passionless as usual. Renji had teased him about it once, but he'd responded by pointing out how abnormal it would be to sound chipper and friendly after doing hours of paperwork. Renji then very wisely let the subject drop, as he himself had a tendency to sound chipper and friendly pretty much throughout the entire workday.

The door slid open, and Yumichika entered.

"Good morning, Kuchiki-taichou," he said, smiling a smile that was somehow both dazzling and lazy at the same time. "Abarai-kun said you wanted to see me?" He reached up to run a hand through his hair, causing the diamond on his left ring finger to sparkle, catching the light through the office window. He and Hisagi Shuuhei had been engaged for the past five months. It was safe to say that within 24 hours of the event which consummated the engagement, all of Seireitei had come to know about it.

Byakuya fought very hard to repress the unknown feeling that attempted to rise within him. It felt alarmingly like jealousy, but as no Kuchiki had ever been jealous of anyone about anything ever, he knew he must be mistaken. Besides, it was absurd to be jealous of a man who had stooped to purchase his own engagement ring.

"Yes," he said. "I am sure you are aware of the meetings which take place every Thursday night at the home of Kurosaki Ichigo in Karakura Town."

"Oh, you mean those silly Halo parties?" Yumichika rolled his eyes. "Shuuhei says I can't come. Not that I would ever want—

"Precisely."

Yumichika stopped playing with his hair, pausing to stare at the Sixth Division captain with a puzzled expression on his face.

"That is exactly what they want," Byakuya continued, serenely folded hands seemingly at odds with the gravity of his voice. "A place where they can succeed and feel validated as warriors, and as men. Naturally, they believe they can only do this by excluding us."

"Naturally," Yumichika agreed. He crossed his arms, studying the other shinigami with slightly narrowed eyes.

"This is unacceptable."

Yumichika blinked. "It is?" He frowned, seeming to think for a second, then practically gasped as his eyes met Byakuya's again. "It _is_!"

"Just so." Byakuya lowered his chin a little, his eyes staring into the other man's. "But I have a plan—a plan that will render their safe haven irreparably ineffective."

Yumichika blinked again. Then a slow, bordering on devious smile began to spread over his face, his eyes seeming to twinkle knowingly. "Oh..?" He hurried forward then, seating himself in the chair facing Byakuya's desk, leaning over on crossed arms. "Do tell."

He listened, his smile at times twisting into a knowing smirk as Byakuya outlined what they would do. Once the older man finished, he sat back again, a thoughtful look on his face, crossed arms now over his chest.

"How will we secure one of these contraptions?" he finally asked.

Despite the careless straightforwardness of the question, there was nothing inherently insubordinate about it. This was, after all, Yumichika—a man who consistently refused the promotion of fourth seat, not because he lacked skill or motivation, but simply because the numerical insignia itself was not "beautiful" enough. Byakuya would probably have admired him for it, were he in the habit of doing such things.

"Renji will get it," he replied.

Yumichika frowned. "Can we trust him? Won't he tell?"

"Not if I order him not to."

Yumichika surprised him by suddenly smiling, as if he were recalling a particularly amusing joke, one that he was certain Byakuya had not heard. "Mm," he said, eyes twinkling again, "You're _quite_ sure he can keep our little secret?"

"Quite," Byakuya said. He was silent for a moment, then: "Why do you ask?"

"Ohh," Yumichika replied in a smiling, sing-song voice, "No reason!"

Byakuya had only a moment to contemplate the curiosity of his response before the office door slid open, and Renji heaved himself back into the office.

He watched his fukutaichou cross the room, footsteps dragging, before sluggishly slumping back down behind his desk. After a moment, he leaned back and let out a loud, satisfied belch.

Byakuya looked at Yumichika, who smirked but remained tactfully silent as he got to his feet and left, sliding the door closed behind him again.

Byakuya looked at Renji next. His lover grinned lazily back at him.

"I see you have had lunch without me again," he said coolly, picking up his pen and looking down at the form he'd neglected after Yumichika had entered.

Renji just smirked.

"Ayasegawa-san will be joining us for dinner tonight," he continued, the tip of the pen sliding gracefully across the parchment before him.

Renji yawned. "Geez. Why can't you just call him "Yumi" like everybody else?"

"We had an agreement," Byakuya said, his voice toneless, his brow furrowed as he studied the form in his hands. "It involves you not questioning me while we are work."

"Whatever." Renji slumped in his seat again, leaning back so he could prop his feet up on his desk. "Whatever, _Taichou_," he amended when Byakuya glanced up at him. "Sheesh. Remind me why I put up with your frigid ass again."

Byakuya scanned the form's contents one last time before signing at the bottom. "You were quite adamant about the excellent qualities of that "frigid ass" last night, if I recall correctly."

When Renji fell out of his chair, he couldn't quite resist a snort of amusement.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Once he made it clear that he was not to be disturbed for the remainder of the afternoon, Byakuya was able to finish the day's paperwork and head home before sunset. Renji was already waiting for him—or rather, his rear end was, as the rest of him had vanished behind a large screen, presumably on loan from the Twelfth.

"Yo," Renji called out absently, rear end wiggling slightly as he fiddled with something behind the contraption—a _television_, Byakuya reminded himself. He made a mental note to memorize each and every one of the terms associated with the activity his fukutaichou participated in each weekend.

"You are having difficulties," he observed, pausing to stare down at the mess surrounding his lover on the living room floor before continuing past him.

"Nah, it's okay," Renji assured him. "I'm about to get it. It's actually not that hard. Nemu said—fuck!!" The expletive was preceded by a sharp zapping sound, followed by the faint smell of smoke. As the cursing continued at a fairly steady rate from then on, Byakuya assumed that Renji was unharmed.

He passed out of the living room and down the cool, pristine hallway, his footsteps light against the marble floors, before sliding the door open to their bedroom. He removed the kenseiken from his hair then the scarf from his neck, folding it carefully before stepping out of his uniform, pausing to hang up his captain's haori, then setting Senbonzakura down on her coverlet. As he poured the bathwater, he had a sudden urge to use the soothing bath oils he had received for his last birthday, but as usual, recalling how long his fukutaichou must have saved up to purchase them stayed his hand.

He took a quick bath instead, stepping out even before the water had started to cool. After drying off, he wrapped a plain silk kimono around himself and returned to the living room, his hair damp against his back.

Renji was now sitting cross-legged in front of the television, a large black box in his lap, various wires in his hands.

"Are you making progress?" Byakuya asked, sinking neatly down onto his heels beside the low table, where one of the servants had just set out fresh tea.

"Yep," Renji replied, the careless answer seemingly at odds with the concentrated frown on his face. He affixed some of the wires, then punched a button, but nothing happen. He punched it again and again, then finally hit the contraption, seemingly out of sheer frustration.

Byakuya watched him, his face expressionless. "Kurostuchi-fukutaichou did not supply you with a manual."

Renji muttered. "Don't need no fuckin' manual…" He slapped the box again. Still no light. He muttered again, turning the thing around in his hands, peering at it upside down now. At least Byakuya assumed it was upside down.

"Perhaps I can help." He didn't have all night, after all. Yumichika would be arriving any moment now.

"Doubt it." Renji frowned, tapped the button one last time. "With all due respect, Taichou, you didn't know what the hell a cell phone was until about a month ago."

Byakuya just stared at him, his mouth thinning slightly.

Renji glanced up, no doubt feeling the faint shift in reiatsu. He raised one red brow, tattoos etched onto his forehead lifting as well. "What?" His mouth twitched at the corners, but he wasn't yet smirking.

Byakuya only narrowed his eyes, palms resting on his thighs twitching, but refusing to curl into fists.

"Aww." Renji set the box down, grin definitely tickling his lips now. "Is Taichou getting pissed off again? All pissy cause his lowly fukutaichou knows more about electronics than he does?" He leaned forward, on hands and knees, smirk stretching ominously into a faint leer.

Byakuya's eyes flew wide open again.

"Renji—" he cautioned, scooting back quickly, his butt hitting the floor with a rather undignified soft thump. "I assure you, I am not upset. Do not attempt… stop. I'm ordering you to stop. Abarai-fuku—_oof!!_—"

His back hit the floor next as Renji pounced on him, the younger shinigami's heavier body covering his own, Renji's grinning face now inches away.

"What's a matter, Taichou?" he asked, clamping his knees around his captain's struggling hips. "You still look pretty pissed to me."

Byakuya glared up at him. "That is because you are attempting to molest me on the living room floor."

"_Molest_ you?" Renji affected a very affronted look "That's a little extreme. Besides, aren't we gonna be married soon? Doesn't that mean I get to molest you whenever I want?" He danced his fingers down Byakuya's sides, tickling his skin through the soft silk of the kimono, making him shudder slightly.

"Certainly not—nnn—" He bit his lip, stifling the unbidden sound, body arching a little. "Renji—stop this at once. Yumichika—the servants—" He started to pant, for Renji's hand had dipped significantly lower, fingertips slipping beneath the kimono to tickle his inner thigh.

"Mmm…" His lover's warm breath puffed against his neck, lips nibbling delicately against his skin. "Taichou is sooo ticklish…"

Byakuya sighed, eyelids fluttering closed.

"Good evening, Kuchiki-taichou, Abarai-kun!!"

Renji sat up abruptly, his face reddening slightly. Byakuya kept his eyes closed for a second before tilting his head back slightly to stare up at a beaming, upside-down Yumichika.

"Good evening, Ayasegawa-san," he said. "I apologize. I will speak to the servants about seeing to our guests properly."

Yumichika smiled and waved his hand negligently, that big diamond flashing. "Oh, don't worry about _that_. I just showed myself in."

By now Renji had gathered his senses enough to stand up again, finally allowing Byakuya to sit up. He did so, calmly adjusting his kimono, which had slipped down one shoulder. "Will you join me for tea before dinner? Renji is still attempting to operate the machinery."

Yumichika sat down opposite him at the table. "Mm," he said, nodding when Byakuya lifted the teapot.

"He claims he does not need a manual," Byakuya continued, his voice calm and perfectly conversational as he poured the tea.

He and Yumichika exchanged knowing looks.

"I heard that," Renji said, rear end in the air as he once again ducked behind the television.

"Shuuhei never needs manuals either," Yumichika continued, beaming his thanks when Byakuya finished pouring. "That's why I write him new ones."

Renji snorted.

"Ahh, Abarai-kun!" Yumichika called out, as if just realizing something. "Shuuhei is meeting Ikkaku and Matsumoto-san at the Tin Can. I said that you would be there."

"Well, obviously I'm not," came the sarcastic reply. He returned to the front of the television and picked up the black box again. The screen was now evidently on, the picture blue, occasionally flickering.

"That's too bad," Yumichika said, a deceptively sad look on his face. "Kuchiki-taichou and I can't discuss the wedding with you here."

Byakuya spit up some of his tea.

"We've finally set a date," the fifth seat continued brightly. "Shuuhei can't wait much longer. He's so eager to be married to me!"

Byakuya coughed, reaching for a cloth napkin to dab at his kimono. He considered asking Yumichika why they could not talk about the wedding between himself and Hisagi Shuuhei with Renji present, but something told him this would not be a very wise idea. Once again, he thought of his sister's frequent visits and bright smiles. He shot his fukutaichou a penetrating look, but suddenly Renji had become utterly fascinated with his wires again.

He turned back to Yumichika, who was smiling at him, the expression bordering on a smirk. "Have you seen my ring, Kuchiki-taichou?" he asked, displaying his left hand, fingers pointing down.

_**Everyone**__ has seen your ring, Ayasegawa-san._

Thankfully, before he could voice the thought, Renji suddenly gave a shout of triumph, prompting him to turn and glance at the television screen again—which was finally displaying the sounds and images now familiar to him from that night three weeks ago.

Byakuya rose to his feet, a calculated frown coming to his face. He moved closer, bending to examine the screen, narrowing his eyes slightly. Then he turned to Renji and held his hand out.

Wordlessly, his fukutaichou handed him a controller.

He looked over at Yumichika. "I can inform the cook to hold dinner."

"Mm," the other man said, quickly rising, a shrewd and determined look coming to his face as well.

Renji stood up, making a face as he scratched behind his head. "Okay, you guys are starting to scare me. I'm outta here." He paused, as if waiting for a response, but Byakuya was no longer looking at him. Both he and Yumichika now sat before the television set, completely focused on the task at hand.

Renji scowled. "Sheesh. Don't I even get a "thank you"? A kiss good night?"

"Leave," said Byakuya, still not looking up.

Renji rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

"This one," Byakuya continued to Yumichika, pointing at the controller the fifth seat now held in his own hands, "is for moving forward. This one is for looking around. And this one," he pointed to a blue button with an ominous "X" imbedded into the center, "is for shooting."

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

"You realize how this is gonna make me look, right?" Renji paused to stare back at them both, his brow furrowed into a faint scowl.

Byakuya continued silently onward, his gaze fixed serenely ahead, his thoughts solely focused on the impending battle. He had contemplated bringing his own controller, but Yumichika had advised against it. _They'll say it's cheating,_ the fifth seat had explained._ Our victory won't taste half as sweet._

After some thought, Byakuya had agreed. After all, he had won battles without the aid of Senbonzakura before. It would indeed make the victory that much sweeter.

"Interesting," Yumichika commented beside him. "So you discipline him simply by not responding?"

"I have found it surprisingly effective," Byakuya replied

"Oh, ha ha." They passed a still scowling Renji, hands now on his hips. "You know, I'm starting to think the less you two have to do with each other, the better off I am." He marched onward again, long strides carrying him past them so he could continue leading the way, which was apparently important to him. Renji was not the type of person to ever realize he was being _allowed_ to lead, and so no harm was done.

"How can you handle it?" Yumichika persisted, blinking curiously. "I swear, the things Shuuhei says…" He waved a hand in lazy exasperation, diamond sparkling in the late afternoon sunlight. "I could never hold my tongue like that."

"It is not that I refrain from responding," Byakuya explained calmly. "But that there is often so little to respond to."

Renji made a harrumphing noise from ahead, but did not turn around this time. Byakuya reflected that it was oddly refreshing, seeing him so disgruntled like this. He contemplated threatening to tickle him, but recalled just in time that Yumichika was with them. Besides, Renji might very well pass out from the shock of it, and one could not really depend upon earthly health care facilities to see adequately to a gigai, so it was just as well.

They arrived at the end of the block and proceeded to walk up the drive, Yumichika exclaiming constantly over the yard work—which, it must be noted, was minimal at best. His sister was a disaster with plant life, and that idiot she was now regrettably betrothed to could not tell a dead stick from a live one. Rukia must have made the _attempt_ to beautify the yard of their new home but had obviously neglected to water her creation.

"So vibrant!" enthused Yumichika, gazing fondly at a pot full of drooping perennials. "Such expressive use of color!"

"I planted those," Renji said proudly.

Byakuya just stopped—then paused to stare at his fukutaichou in utter shock.

"You plant?" he finally asked, his voice devoid of all emotion.

Renji looked briefly embarrassed. "Well, yeah…" He reached up, scratching the back of his head. "Rukia asked me to help… It was last Friday. I didn't skip out," he added hurriedly, mistaking the expression on his captain's face for anger. "I asked off for it, remember?"

Byakuya continued to just stare at him.

"Taichou?" Renji asked, obviously confused. And maybe a bit scared.

"You never lift a finger in _our_ garden," Byakuya finally said. The petulance he heard in his own voice gave him pause.

Renji shrugged. "Well that's cause there's gardeners and stuff, right?" Then he blinked, seeming to finally understand the root of Byakuya's annoyance. "But… You never _asked_ me if I wanted to garden!" he said, scowling, suddenly defensive.

Byakuya frowned, lips thinning, arms actually crossing over his chest. "I was not aware that I had to _request_ for you to pencil in an afternoon to spend with me, Abarai-_fukutaichou_."

"What the hell?! Renji threw up his hands. "I spend all fucking _day_ with you!!"

Yumichika just beamed at them.

"Nii-sama!"

Both Byakuya and Renji spun around to face the front door, where Rukia was smiling up at them. Neither of them had even noticed it opening.

"Renji!" she said next, grinning at her old friend.

"Uh," Renji replied. "Hey."

"Ayasegawa-san," she continued, smiling, not seeming at all surprised to see Yumichika as she gave him a quick, polite bow.

"Good afternoon, Kuchiki-san," he replied, returning the gesture. Their eyes seemed to twinkle when they both straightened, and their gazes met.

Byakuya noticed—and frowned. At Renji.

Renji then did something that made a man his height and breadth look utterly ridiculous. He tried to make himself seem smaller.

Rukia grinned up at them, her black eyes glinting, focusing on her big brother. "Nii-sama!" She raised a small, determined fist, her expression momentarily fierce. "I'm ready to do battle! Kuchiki-Ayasegawa Team, GO!!"

Byakuya had heard the words "what the fuck?" being repeated around his office when his subordinates thought he couldn't hear them. Were he a less elegant man, he would have found the phrase particularly pertinent at this exact moment.

"Rukia," he said instead, his voice calm, schooling the shock from his features. "What is the meaning of this?" 

His sister only grinned again. "I've been practicing! Renji told me what you guys were planning to do." She snorted. "I hate these stupid Halo parties. But I haven't said a damn thing about it because Ichigo would pitch a bitch if I did." She shrugged. "So when I heard what you wanted to do, I started practicing. I've already beaten the game TWICE now!"

Whatever words of stern protest Byakuya had been about to utter were immediately stilled on his tongue.

"Twice?" he repeated.

She nodded. "I didn't use cheats or anything." She laughed, that crazy, verging-on-disturbing "bwahahaha!" of hers. "I guess I'm a natural!"

Byakuya looked at her, then over at Yumichika, who only smirked.

He looked at Renji, who was oh-so-studiously studying the flowers he had planted last week.

Then he looked down at his sister again—his sweet, obedient little sister, who had just uttered a string of profanities in his presence as if he were one of her Rukongai friends down at the Tin Can.

He nodded.

"YES!!" She pumped her fist into the air again before shooting Renji a triumphant gaze. "I _told_ you he'd say yes!" She grinned, pointing a finger at her best friend. "Prepare to _lose_, Renji! Prepare to go home with your big fat tail between your big fat legs!" She brought her fists up to her chest and made a queer, hissing noise between her teeth. "Ohhh, I can already taste it. The sweet taste of revenge! Like sugar to my tongue!"

"Shut up," Renji growled, stomping his way past her. He kicked his shoes off before continuing into the house and heading down the hallway to the spare room.

Byakuya and Yumichika came in more slowly, pausing to hang up their jackets and remove their shoes as well before following Rukia further in. All was quiet as they made their way down the hall. He could hear Renji's muttered, verging on sullen greeting to his friends, and Ichigo and Shuuhei's absent responses. Apparently, there was a game already in progress.

Rukia tossed them one more little knowing smirk before pausing in the doorway of the guest room, where the usual scenario was taking place, minus Ikkaku. Ichigo and Hisagi were on the floor, eyes focused intently on the screen, while Renji slumped nearby in an overstuffed chair, pretending to watch and paying no attention whatsoever to the group now standing in the doorway.

"Ohh, boyoys!" Rukia called out, in a sing-song little voice.

Ichigo made a backward hand motion at her without looking up. "Not now, Rukia. We're busy."

She narrowed her eyes in response, the expressionless malice on her face almost enough to make Byakuya reach out and rest a brotherly hand on her small shoulder, as though overcome by the display. Fortunately, he regained control of his senses and managed to refrain from doing so.

"You're going to regret saying that," she said.

Ichigo turned around.

And blinked.

"What the _fuck_?!"

Hisagi turned around as well, his eyes widening in a comical display of shock at the sight of his beaming fiancé standing beside the two Kuchiki siblings. Yumichika gave him a one-fingered little wave, his head tilted slightly, eyes squinting as he smiled.

"I'm sorry," Hisagi said automatically, as if the words were a programmed response upon seeing Yumichika where he least expected to see him.

Byakuya looked down on Ichigo, his own expression calm.

"We have come for a rematch," he said.

Ichigo glared back up at him, shock now mingling with righteous fury, and possibly even a hint of… was that fear? Byakuya would have liked to believe so. He would let that fear linger on his tongue, taste it as it continued to grow, only to be mingled with the bitter aftertaste of complete humiliation.

"Renji," Ichigo growled, whirling to face his friend. "This is all _your_ fault!"

Renji looked defeated, even his tattoos seeming to droop a little. "You'd better just do what he says."

Byakuya frowned, not particularly liking this attitude, but supposed that even the most persistent of stay dogs could be beaten enough into submission. Recompense, however, would have to be made later when they returned to the hotel suite.

"Like hell," Ichigo muttered. He looked to Shuuhei for support, but Shuuhei had already handed his controller to Yumichika, who was exclaiming over the different colors from the one at home.

"Maybe," Rukia cut in, "you're just scared you'll lose. To a bunch of _girls_," she added menacingly. The words seemed to cut her future husband to the quick, who actually flinched. "Sorry, Nii-sama," she said, glancing contritely at Byakuya.

Byakuya just sighed.

Perhaps spending seven years in intimate acquaintance with his fukutaichou had helped him to finally learn that there were some things simply not worth getting angry about.

Instead, he speared Ichigo with one of his cold, passionless gazes.

"If you fear defeat, Kurosaki Ichigo," he said calmly, his voice dry and steady. "You are not worthy to marry my adopted sister."

"That's right!" Rukia agreed, small fist in the air again. "That means no sex again, EVER!"

Finally, real fear began to show in Ichigo's usually fierce brown eyes.

He scowled, but got grumpily to his feet. "Okay, FINE. Whatever. Here." And he thrust a controller into his grinning fiancée's hands. "Like this means anything. We'll beat you guys so bad you won't even be able to _look_ at a television screen without writhing in ultimate humiliation." He plopped down beside Hisagi then, reaching for another controller, still wrapped up in its cord and sitting unused by the second television set.

Hisagi unwrapped his own controller and plugged it in before looking over his shoulder. "Good luck, Babe."

Yumi beamed back. "Good luck, Shuu-chan!"

Ichigo muttered something inaudible under his breath. Whatever it was, it must have been unseemly, because Renji overheard and shot his lover an apologetic look from his spot on the couch.

Once they were all settled in front of their respective screens—Byakuya, Yumichika, and Rukia before the larger set; Renji, Hisagi, and Ichigo before the smaller—they then went through the rapid process of linking the two systems and finding their usernames.

Rukia was, unsurprisingly, WonderWoman.

Yumichika typed in "IluvShuu-chan" with practiced ease.

Hisagi coughed and received the obligatory ribbing from his friends. The other group remained silent, calmly waiting for their rivals to collect themselves so that the game could begin.

Finally, Ichigo selected the map, set the restrictions, and the timer began.

Once again, the snowy castle-like scene appeared on the screen, the "sky" overcast, the drops beneath narrow passageways seemingly fathomless.

"Secure the small tower," Byakuya intoned, and immediately moved forward, Yumichika jumping in front of him, Rukia automatically taking up the rear. They reached their destination within seconds, Yumichika switching to sniper rifle and positioning himself to the tower's right while Rukia and Byakuya guarded the bridge, shot guns ready.

"Holy fuck," said Ichigo.

All three were currently screen-watching, heads turned in disbelief, their characters not having moved since the game began.

"I have the enemy within my sights, Taichou!" Yumichika said. He switched to sniper viewpoint, and there between the crosshairs stood a figure with the word "Destructinator" overhead.

"Fire," Byakuya ordered.

"Oi!" cried Renji, but it was too late. There was a blinding flash of red, then his screen became black.

"YES!" Rukia cheered. "Taichou! Permission to pursue remaining units!"

"Denied," Byakuya replied. "Hold your position."

"But, Taichou!" she persisted, leaning eagerly forward. "The enemy has moved within range!"

"Proceed," he said.

A second later, Hisagi's screen went blank. He gave his teammates a sheepish look, then shrugged. "She's faster than she looks," he admitted.

Ichigo snarled. "Oh, HELL, no," he said, glaring at the screen with renewed determination. "This shit is NOT happening. It ends NOW!"

No doubt he would have liked to believe so.

Byakuya conceded (privately, of course) that the opposing team had been caught unawares the first round. However, by the second round, they had had plenty of time to regroup and organize a return attack. Yet again and again, they fell to the efficient strategizing of the opposing team. By the fifth game, Ichigo was claiming that it was unfair for them to have a Seireitei captain on their team; obviously Kuchiki-taichou was an expert on the field, otherwise he would not have been made captain. This upset his two teammates, who proceeded to argue that two vice-captains ought to at least equal one measly little captain. And all the while, Byakuya and his team slaughtered them ruthlessly, to the point that Yumichika began tallying his points aloud with a delighted smile on his face. Eventually, he stopped counting shotgun kills, claiming they weren't as "beautiful" as those obtained with the sniper rifle.

When Rukia got her first killtacular, she and Yumichika shared a high five. And Ichigo threw down his controller.

"Fuck _this_ shit," he growled, getting to his feet. "Who's hungry? I'm starved." Then he grumped off to the kitchen, apparently letting his suddenly unquenchable appetite save him from having to admit total defeat.

Hisagi quirked a grin at a beaming Yumichika before rising as well and following his young friend out of the room. Renji did the same, though he did not spare his captain a glance. Instead, he walked silently past him, for all the world like a man who feared being either court marshaled by his superior or banished to the couch by his lover.

"We did it!" Rukia cried, raising both hands into the air this time, a beaming smile on her face.

"Three cheers for Team Kuchiki-Ayasegawa!" Yumi cried, doing the same, the feathers on the ends of his lashes seeming to flutter straight up, as if sharing in the triumphant moment.

"And it's all thanks to Nii-sama!" Rukia continued. She then proceeded to throw her arms around her big brother, rendering the sixth division captain utterly speechless, his eyes widening in shock.

Yumichika smirked, though not unkindly. "Mm, Kuchiki-san," he teased, eyes squinting in delight. "I think you should hug Kuchiki-taichou more often."

Kuchiki-taichou himself was not so sure about this rather bold pronouncement—though after a moment, he did deign to raise one hand, and ever so slowly pat his sister somewhat awkwardly on the shoulder.

"It was a group effort," he said, looking very magnanimous as he continued to bear the slight weight of Rukia's slender arms wrapped around him, her beaming dark eyes gazing adoringly up into his own.

"Will you come again next week?" she asked, finally straightening after awhile, her face still flushed from their recent victory. She laughed. "We can't let those jerks think this was some kind of fluke!"

"Never!" Yumichika agreed, laughing with her.

Byakuya looked down and began calmly to unplug and wrap his controller back up. "Only if my schedule allows for it," he said gravely, giving no signs whatsoever that he had any intentions to make it so.

At the same time, he made a mental note to have Renji pen an interoffice memo ordering all seated officers to put in half an hour's more work each day, so that all paperwork would be completed before the onset of the weekend.

"We're going out!" Ichigo called out suddenly, voice echoing down the hallway from the general direction of the kitchen. "There's no food in this fucking house!"

"Yeah!" Renji chimed in, apparently having regained some of his earlier fighting spirit.

On second thought—perhaps he had best prepare that memo himself.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Rather than return home to Seireitei, he decided to pay for another night at the hotel suite they traditionally rented when they came into Karakura Town together for unofficial business. Byakuya knew that his fukutaichou tended to view these little excursions as mini-vacations, and so he felt he perhaps owed him this much at least.

"You owe me a lot of sex," Renji said, breaking the peaceful silence between them as they both sat in bed reading.

"I owe you nothing of the sort," Byakuya replied, not looking up from his book. It was a Japanese translation of a French novel entitled _L'Etranger_, and he found it to be utterly fascinating.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Renji remove his glasses and toss his magazine aside. "Lots and lots of sex," he continued, as he crawled over to Byakuya's side of the bed, a telltale grin on his face. Byakuya pursed his lips and tried to look disgruntled as he set his own book aside, sighing almost inaudibly.

Renji was now grinning down at him, his body resting comfortably on top of his own. "Lots."

Byakuya quirked a brow. "And this, I presume, is in comparison to the virtually celibate manner in which we currently live."

Renji chuckled. "Hey." He feigned an angry look, tattooed forehead wrinkling ominously. "I thought I told you not to use big words around me."

Byakuya quirked the other brow. "Perhaps you did. But you frequently, and, may I add, conveniently forget that as your superior officer, I am not, nor will I ever be, in the habit of taking orders from you."

"Open your mouth."

Byakuya closed his eyes, the corners of said mouth turning slightly down.

"Renji!" he cried, when he suddenly felt a pair of fingers pinching his nose. The next second, his lover's mouth was pressed against his own, his tongue slipping inside to taste him thoroughly.

Really, it was absurd how he always fell for these sorts of things.

After a moment, he drew his hands out from under the blanket and wrapped his arms around the younger man's back, fingertips digging into warm, tattooed skin. When he felt a hand gently questing between his thighs, he opened them willingly, sighing out his pleasure as his lover wrapped his fingers around his growing arousal.

"You are angry, Abarai-fukutaichou," he murmured, his voice growing a bit husky. "And feel a renewed need to assert your dominance."

"Damn straight I do," Renji replied, his hand starting to stroke and squeeze as his lips in turn began to travel down his lover's slightly arched neck.

"Mmm…" Byakuya sucked in a breath, trying not to squirm beneath him. "Such a childish reaction," he sighed, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "A shame that you know in your heart you shall never surpass me…"

"A-huh." Renji's mouth continued to dip lower, pausing only briefly to tease one pert nipple before folding around the aching need between his lover's legs.

"Nn… Renji…!" Byakuya moaned rather breathily, his fingers digging into long red hair, short blunt nails scraping against his fukutaichou's scalp. He panted, his moans increasing in intensity as Renji sucked and bobbed, a distant (_very_ distant) part of him wondering why he was to receive all the pleasure if his lover was truly disgruntled.

How foolish of him to think it would be that way. Renji rather deviously took his time, bringing him to the brink of ultimate pleasure, his toes already beginning to curl, before pulling his mouth away. The smug little leer he fixed him with was enough to make Byakuya want to scratch the very expression off his face.

"Don't make me demote you!" he growled, his breath coming in fast pants, his now-neglected arousal pulsing with swollen desire, weeping at the tip.

Renji smirked. "Let's see. How would you write that up in the report?" He assumed a bored, slightly superior expression. "Abarai is neglectful in his duties towards his Taichou. He frequently leaves me feeling sexually frustrated in bed. This kind of behavior is unacceptable—

Byakuya reached up and yanked one long piece of red hair.

"Ow!" Renji batted his hand away, his lower lip pushing out into a fake pout. "Taichou is so fucking bitchy!"

Byakuya glared up at him. "And I thought I told _you_, Abarai-fukutaichou, that if you cannot think of anything intelligent to say, to find _better_ uses for that mouth of yours!"

For once, Renji was only too happy to follow his orders.

Rather than return to its previous occupation, his lover's lips found his own again, sucking his tongue into his mouth while his right hand busied itself with the necessary task of flipping open the lid on the bottle of lubrication retrieved from the drawer in the nightstand. Once he had prepared himself, Renji began to carefully push into the slighter man beneath him, Byakuya's fingers sliding over his biceps before clenching down into his shoulders. They both paused, panting a bit, foreheads resting against one another while Byakuya's body adjusted to the intrusion. Then Renji began to thrust, his captain's legs wrapped tightly around his back, Byakuya moaning again once Renji located his sweet spot and began to angle against it with each increasingly hard forward motion. The passion built between them until the pleasure became almost unbearable, Byakuya's hands now sliding over strong shoulders and down a slick, muscled back, another loud moan rolling up form his throat, his senses completely oblivious to everything except the incredible pleasure his lover was giving and receiving from him.

Finally, he cried out, his throat going raw as Renji grabbed him, gripping his ass and holding him tightly to him for that one, final thrust. Byakuya's seed spurt between them as his muscles clenched around the younger man's cock, eliciting a resounding groan of ultimate pleasure from his lover as well.

This was followed by a soft grunt from Byakuya as he flopped back down on his back after Renji released him, only to land heavily on top of him. They lay like this for some time, unmoving, simply breathing and being, as was their habit. Eventually, Renji shifted his head, lifting his face from where it had been buried in his taichou's smooth black hair. He nuzzled Byakuya's face with his own instead, his mouth ghosting lazily over one flushed check before gently nibbling on another kiss-swollen pair of lips.

"Renji…" Byakuya said, almost drawling the name out in his quietly spent passion.

"Hmmm?" His lover moved on to gently kiss every part of his face, Byakuya even closing his eyes obligingly so each eyelid could be administered to.

"Who knows?" he asked after a moment, reopening them again to stare up into the other man's warm brown eyes.

To Renji's credit, there was only a brief second of slight confusion before faint guilt began to color those same brown eyes.

"…Rukia," he finally said. Then he offered his lover an apologetic smile.

"Who else?" Byakuya persisted.

Renji sighed, looking even guiltier, though, truth be told, he did not look as if he regretted what he had done.

"Well, I guess she told Ichigo." He made a face. "And then I guess Ikkaku heard me and him talking about it once. Then Ikkaku probably told Yumichika, Yumichika told Hisagi… Actually, I think Matsumoto knows, too, and knowing her, she told Hitsugaya-taichou, and…

Byakuya's eyes widened. "Enough," he finally said, softening the command by placing a finger gently over his lips—which were at present quirking slightly up into a smile.

He sighed, turning his head slightly to gaze at the far wall of the room. "Why did I ever wish to keep it secret?" he wondered aloud, somewhat surprised by the almost self-deprecating tone he heard in his own voice.

Renji smiled, reaching up to play absently with a strand of dark hair. "Because you like secrets." He brought it to his lips and kissed it, causing the stern look his captain had fixed him with to melt into a reluctant little smile.

"So this means I can talk about it now?" he continued, an answering lopsided grin coming to his face.

Byakuya sighed. "Yes. I suppose it does." He imagined being teased by the likes of Matsumoto-fukutaichou or Ayasegawa-san on a regular basis now, and yet somehow supposed it would not be as insufferable as he had imagined.

"Cool." Renji smiled, leaning down to press one more perfunctory kiss to his lips before suddenly sliding off. "That means I can give you this, too."

Byakuya frowned, propping himself up on one elbow so he could watch his fukutaichou slip out from beneath the sheets and pad across the room to his discarded pile of clothes. He picked up his pants, digging around in both pockets until he pulled forth a pair of little black boxes.

"Here," he said, sliding back into bed and opening one of the boxes, from which he drew forth a small gold band. "I think this one's yours. I hope I guessed right on the size. But the guy told me we could resize it, so I guess it's okay if it doesn't really fit right."

Byakuya just stared at the ring, a completely befuddled look on his face.

Renji just rolled his eyes before grabbing his captain's hand himself and slipping the ring onto his left ring finger. "Looks good," he commented, holding the limp hand up to the light.

Byakuya brought his own hand back down and stared down at it, something inside him unfolding at seeing a ring there again, after so many years. Grief he would have expected, even anticipated, but what he felt instead was a quiet happiness the likes of which he had never experienced. He looked up again, met Renji's eyes… and smiled.

Renji smiled back, the expression slightly goofy as he propped his cheek up on his palm.

Byakuya resumed examining his own hand. "How long have you been carrying this around?" he finally asked.

Renji shrugged. "About a month." After a moment, he picked up the other black box and handed it to his lover, who took it with a bemused look on his face, as if at first he did not know what he was to do with it. Once Byakuya slid the gold band onto his finger, it felt as if they were already married, their vows exchanged slightly between them, just as they were exchanged with each passing glance, each hidden smile, each passionate embrace.

Byakuya smiled again, the expression almost playfully ironic. "Shall you tell them that we have eloped?" he asked dryly. "Or shall I?"

"Nah," said Renji, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close for another kiss. "Let's see how long we can keep it a secret."

_Finis_


End file.
